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A Bad Day's Work (2010)

by Nora McFarland(Favorite Author)

3.52 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1439155488 (ISBN13: 9781439155486)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Touchstone

series

Lilly Hawkins

review 1: This is the first book in a planned trilogy about Lilly Hawkins, a TV news photographer known as a “shooter’. She shoots video for her hometown news station KJAY in the small town of Bakersfield California. Lilly is not the most friendly or social person in the newsroom but she is very competent and is hoping to get the chief photographer position which has become available now that her boyfriend Jake has headed for the big time in Las Vegas. She and Jake had a good working relationship, but since his departure she has been struggling at the station. She seems to be clumsy and inept and her boss Callum, the assignment manager and Trent the station manager are losing patience with her. They have told her to get her act together or she will be out the door. So Lilly kno... morews she has to do something great to secure her job and the confidence of the others in the news room. Her opportunity comes when she is called to a murder scene. If she can capture some great video on this event her job will be secure. So Lilly goes all out to get the footage and after dodging police and security she gets some great exclusive footage. After boasting of her achievement, she shows the tape to her boss and the others in the newsroom only to find the tape is blank. What has happened? Did she forget to prepare the camera properly? Impossible! She is an old hand at this. Then a calamity of events occurs when both the bad guys and the police all believe that the tape will help solve the murder. Each is trying to retrieve the tape and each is convinced that Lilly still has it. But she doesn’t! And things are getting pretty violent. She gets beaten up, almost strangled and her apartment is trashed. She has to find out what is happening and get herself out of this self- created mess which appears to be threatening her life. It all involves a young black man now dead with a bullet wound to the head, a winery, a hijacked truck, a violent gang called the Eastside Crew”, and Leland Warner a rich, tough business man who owns a lot of real estate in and around town and has a lot of political pull.We are introduced to a variety of characters in the newsroom and Lilly’s personal life, but it is not clear at this point which ones will reappear to be the core characters in the storyline. Apart from Trent and Callum, the characters in the newsroom include Rod the very handsome but shy star reporter who seems to be among the few who really like Lilly. He has a PhD in communications and this is his first reporter job. Although he has only been at the station for six months, he already has all the girls agog and seems headed for the big time. Marcia is the anchor/producer of the morning show, is ambitious but seems to be a friend. Teddy and Freddy, or the Wonder Twins as they are called, are also shooters who are young, blond and dress like surfer dudes. David is another photographer who seems to be headed for the chief photographer’s job.The police department also has a few interesting characters including “Handsome”, a wickedly good looking cop whose throws every girls heart into arrhythmia and Detective Lucero who works with the rural crimes division. But the most loveable and interesting character is Lilly’s Uncle Bud, a crusty old guy who lives in an interesting house and seems to have a rather checkered past.This series is similar to the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. Lilly is a quirky likeable character with many flaws and traces of vulnerability. You can’t help but like her. However she can also be annoying, rude and abrupt. She has a tendency to nickname people according to their appearance and personality: “Belly and Skinny” are two cops who rough her up and “Handsome” is the good looking suave cop. The novel introduces us to a world most of us do not know well, the insular competitive world of the newsroom and we quickly become immersed in the jargon and technology of the place.This is a funny, fast paced, quick read. It doesn’t have the “laugh out loud” moments, or the high pitched sex of Evanovich’s Plum series, but it does have a good "puzzle mystery" and builds suspense well. It also leaves you with a lot of questions to lead you to the second book: Did Lilly’s father really commit suicide? Is Uncle Bud her uncle or her grandfather? And what is his back story? What is the weird status of Lilly's relationship with her mother?I am not much impressed by Rod, Lilly’s boyfriend. He seems rather bland, especially when you compare him to “smokin’ Joe” from the Plum series, but perhaps he will grow on us. And this series is different and needs to strike new chords with its readers. The closing chapters with all Lilly’s self-analysis went a bit far for me. Even though she is being brave and honest about her weaknesses it went on a little too long.A fun read.
review 2: I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Lilly is a great protagonist - flawed, funny, and dedicated.I met Nora McFarland at a mystery conference in San Francisco. In a field full of people trying to promote their own work, she was a refreshing face to see each time she entered a room. We're at the same stage of our careers, so we exchanged first timer fears and woes, and each time we talked I liked her more.But yeah, the book - a groovy adventure spanning all social classes (I find that variety fun) - and a surprisingly deep read for something so light and fast. A camerawoman is thrust into a series of events that seem to be conspiring to end her career - and her life - within the span of 24 hours. The moral of the story: People are not just one thing. Read and find out why.I'm excited for the sequel! less

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